The Tribune

The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) has completed a three-year pilot project on ‘Tourism and Coral Reef Health’ in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, aided by funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

A key project objective was the development of a sustainable tourism model (STM) for the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park and its surrounding communities.

The model was completed in 2013 through a consultative process involving a diverse group of stakeholders and experts who have expressed a strong desire to see it implemented in the Exuma Cays.

Krista Sherman, the GEF coordinator for the Bahamas National Trust, introduced the model to government officials; local, regional and international tourism experts; and environmental professionals at the Small Island Developing States Conference last month.

The STM is a tool for monitoring and managing tourism in the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, in order to maintain healthy, biodiverse habitats and create opportunities for sustainable livelihoods and growth throughout the Exuma Cays.

Ms Sherman said: “The Government of the Bahamas and the Ministry of Tourism have an opportunity to reaffirm the country’s position as a leader in innovative tourism management through the adoption and implementation of the first sustainable tourism model created in the Bahamas and the wider Caribbean”.

The STM selected for the Exuma Cays is an Integrated Monitoring and Adaptive Management System (IMAMS), and is comprised of three parts.

The STM formed part of the activities funded under the $2.2 million GEF Full Size Project facility, administered by the Bahamas Environment, Science and Technology (BEST) Commission.

The project was designed to assist the Bahamas in meeting its commitment under the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), with the main objective of establishing a sustainable national marine protected area (MPA) network in the Bahamas.